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Introducing the Bowler-Bartlett Foundation: The 501(c)3 Organization of the New Hampshire Medical Society

October 5, 2017

The NHMS Council recently approved the reconstitution of what will now be called the Bowler-Bartlett Foundation, as the charitable, educational and scientific 501(c)3 organization of the New Hampshire Medical Society. The Foundation’s mission is to advance the practice of medicine, enhance the quality of medical care, and better the health of New Hampshire citizens, as well as preserve and promote the history of medicine in the Granite State. It will also continue to serve to provide financial assistance to members and their families in need. Named after two prominent Granite State physicians – John Bowler and Josiah Bartlett – the formal ratification vote of the Medical Society’s new Foundation will take place at the annual business meeting during the 2017 NHMS Annual Scientific Conference on Saturday, November 4, at Mill Falls at the Lake in Meredith, New Hampshire.

The origins of the Foundation were established in 1838, by Josiah Bartlett II, MD (Member of Congress, as well as concurrently the New Hampshire Senate President and Medical Society’s president from 1814-1820) on behalf of his father, Granite State revolutionary war patriot, NHMS founder, and the state’s first elected Governor – Dr. Josiah Bartlett. The portraits of both physicians hang in the Executive Council Chambers of the New Hampshire State House. Learn more about Dr. Josiah Bartlett.

In 1974, several gifted funds for educational purposes from Dr. Arthur Burnham (NHMS president 1957-58), Dr. T.J.W. Pray (NHMS president 1879-1880), as well as the Bartlett fund, were combined and converted into the John P. Bowler, MD, Memorial Library. A graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard Medical Schools, Dr. Bowler returned to his hometown of Hanover, after studying at the Mayo Clinic in 1926, to help found the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic. He served as its first chief of staff and then president until retiring in 1960, while also serving as the Dean of Dartmouth Medical School from 1927-1945. Dr. Bowler was also NHMS president from 1949-1950. After retirement, Dr. Bowler served as chairman of the New Hampshire House Committee on Public Health and was elected to the New Hampshire Executive Council from 1963-1965.

The Bowler-Bartlett Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, receives input through advisory councils for specific programs and seeks to collaborate with leaders in medicine, business, faith, education and the community. The trustees and advisory councils work in concert to achieve health goals, create public education and advocacy, and disseminate information for the betterment of Granite State citizens.

Championed by our current president, Dr. Deb Harrigan, one of the initial objectives of the Bowler-Bartlett Foundation is to create a physician leadership development program in the Granite State. To that end, the Medical Society was successful and has begun to implement a two-year grant from The Physicians Foundation to establish a physician leadership development program, including an executive physician network. The advisory council for this project includes Drs. Charlie Blitzer, Bill Crawford, Bill Goodman, Travis Harker, Deb Harrigan, Greg Kaupp and Neil Meehan.

In addition, the Foundation has spearheaded an initiative to increase the number of physicians, PAs and APRNs who can provide medication assisted treatment (MAT) services and help link their patients to long-term behavioral recovery programs. Over the past year, we have been able to offer five 8-hour buprenorphine waiver courses in various locations across the state resulting in over 200 practitioners qualifying to offer these much needed services. This initiative was supported by SAMHSA grants through the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NE ATTC) Network and the Providers' Clinical Support System for Medication Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT) at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, as well as generous assistance from the Anthem BlueCross BlueShield Foundation.

We are also thankful for the MAT training initiative’s success from the collaboration with the New Hampshire Hospital Association and Foundation for Healthy Communities, New Hampshire Bureau of Drugs and Alcohol Services, New Hampshire Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Societies.